Phil Davis suffered acute blood loss, fevers and faced the likelihood of having his kidney removed in the aftermath of Greater Western Sydney’s round-one match against the Swans.

The Giants co-captain was rushed by ambulance to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in the hours after the game at Spotless Stadium on March 15, after GWS club doctors had administered morphine to combat the 23-year-old’s dangerously low blood pressure and vomiting from pain.

Davis was admitted to the intensive care unit and underwent two surgeries. He was told before the second operation that surgeons would have to remove the kidney due to the damage caused by the collision with an opponent early in the match, although he escaped that fate.

''The doctor actually said I was going to lose it and that was pretty scary,'' Davis said on Monday, revealing details for the first time. ''It was pretty scary to be a 23-year-old who loves playing sport, to only have one kidney … to think about what the complications could be ... in 30 or 40 years time if it ever failed or whatever.''

The Giants full-back has recovered substantially in recent days. He wished to thank his family, hospital staff, GWS staff and fans for their care and support. He said he would be out of the game for ''a long time'' and was keen to look into research on kidney and renal trauma to learn more about his prospects of resuming his career.

''I’ll be able to do a lot of fitness components within a couple of weeks. It’s just the contact side, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do that this year,'' he said. ''The risk of rupturing again, I don’t really want to go through what I’ve been through again. I’ll take my time and speak to the right people.''

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Davis’ ordeal began in the first quarter of the match, when he collided with Craig Bird, just as a major thunderstorm began to sweep across the stadium. ''I just remember instant pain but it was only another minute till quarter-time and we had the thunder, so were off for half an hour,'' he said.

''I went and saw the doc. We had a look at the kidney and it was all right, I didn’t have any pain where he was touching. I thought it was more of a rib, so I thought 'that’s all right, I’ll play with a broken rib. Can I please just have some pain killers'. It didn’t do lots but I played out the rest of the game.''

Davis remembers running out for the third quarter of the match and feeling deep pain when a teammate gave him a gentle tap on the back. ''I really reared up because it really hurt,'' he said. ''It was a battle through the game … but the adrenaline got me through.''

Afterwards, he went through the usual post-match routine of singing the team song, having a team meeting, speaking to the media and then spent time with his family. He decided to return to the club to do some recovery. ''Halfway up the driveway to get in I started to feel faint and nauseous,'' he said.

He went to the doctor’s room and began vomiting from the pain. His blood pressure had fallen, staff administered morphine and called an ambulance. ''It got pretty serious from there,'' he said. ''It was never really life threatening, but it was a very scary time for me and my family.''

Davis tweeted a photo of himself in hospital on March 21, sitting up in bed for the first time. ''The last few days, in particular, I’ve taken some big strides forward,'' he said.

“The first few days in ICU were pretty hard, but from where I came from to where I am now, I’m very thankful and I’m feeling great. It’s going to be a long time [til he can play again]. I really hope I’m back this year but my health is paramount.''